Apple App Store suffered a major bug yesterday preventing iPhone and iPad users from downloading new apps or updating the existing ones. The App Store bug affected several iPhone and iPad users, and was eventually fixed by Apple by the end of the day.
App Store bug – how it affected users?
Affected users took to social media platforms to complain about the App Store bug. The bug resulted in the Terms & Conditions update box to go in an endless loop when a user tapped the Get or Update button. What’s even more frustrating was that the box wouldn’t go away even if the user tapped the Agree button.
“@AppleSupport Any solution on the repeating iTunes agreement update? Can’t download, buy in AppStore today. Also tried reset internet, not solved..,” one Twitter user complained.
Some users also complained of receiving multiple emails detailing the change in Apple’s Media Services terms.
“Hah apparently the fact that the Apple media service terms have changed is so important they need to email me about it 11 times!” a Twitter user said.
The issue was quite widespread. Even if it affected a small percentage of users, the bug could have affected a significant number of users considering the App Store user base. However, it wasn’t clear if the App Store bug affected a particular region or country.
It affected all iOS versions, including the latest one, as well as the developer and public beta build of the upcoming iOS version. There were no reports of similar issues with the Mac App Store.
How the issue got fixed?
Apple never responded publicly to the App Store bug. Users who reached out to Apple Support were asked to get in touch on DM with more details. Some were also pointed to a support doc about the connection issues.
There was no workaround available as well. All that users could do was to click Cancel to get out of the Terms & Condition loop, to continue to use their phone. Doing this, however, denied them the chance of installing or updating an app.
Apple later rolled out a software update to fix the App Store bug. Affected users don’t have to do anything for the update, such as downloading an update or patch. The update (server side update) will automatically resolve the issue on the App Store’s backend. Hopefully, the issue is resolved for all.
If you are still facing the App Store bug, do raise the issue with Apple Support.
Not the first issue with App Store
It is not the first time this year that users have faced an issue with the App Store. A couple of months back users complained that they were unable to connect to the App Store. This issue with the App Store came around the same time when Apple disabled the Group Facetime feature following a nasty bug.
“@AppleSupport I can’t connect to my App Store. I’ve logged in and logged out. My data is fine. Is there something wrong with the server? How can this issue be resolved?” a Twitter user asked at the time.
Additionally, some Apple Music and iTunes users also reported the same issue. Some users suggested a workaround that by setting a date back to the 29th fixed the issue for them.
Later, it was reported that the issue was affecting users on a specific version of iOS. Also, some came up with the theory that Apple did it intentionally to force users on the older iOS to update to the latest iOS.
Moreover, users of apps such as Telegram and Skype started reporting a strange issue, saying their app wouldn’t download even after updating from the App Store. Thereafter, the issue was pinned down at Apple’s end.
“This seems to be an issues on Apple’s side. Getting the same here, the App Store gives you the wrong build for some reason. Will probably get fixed soon, it’s likely some delay in the rollout,” Telegram’s support team said in a tweet. Later, Telegram CEO also confirmed that the issue was at Apple’s end.
Apple was quick to fix the issue with the App Store with a software update. The same was confirmed by Telegram in a tweet. “Apple has fixed the iTunes/App Store issue, you can now update Telegram 5.3 for iOS,” the tweet read.
